


TRUMP

by zeon_avalanthe



Category: Arashi - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-08-10 22:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7862986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeon_avalanthe/pseuds/zeon_avalanthe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matsumoto Jun is just your ordinary young man aspiring to be a fashion designer. Until one day, a mysterious man clad in black coming to bring him a news which will change his life forever. <i>"Welcome to the TRUMP"</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A cross-post from my LJ

~Prologue~  
  
“I come bearing news for you.”  
  
A young man in his late twenties, was on his usual route to reach home after a long day at school. He was in the middle of evaluating today’s work when a voice, deep yet playful, came from behind him, surprising him with a jolt.  
  
“Holy shit!” He cursed under his breath as he turned around to face his offender.  
  
Another man, can’t be more than a few years older than himself, stood with grin. A long black waist-coat covered his lean and tall figure, a drawing in silver lining on his right, a huge and beautified ‘J’ engrossed on his left. A top hat with emerald lining hides his brown locks. And a barely noticeable earcuff on his left-ear shone under the moonlight. On first look, the man appeared to be your normal man with a dressier outfit. But the glint in his eyes spoke otherwise.  
  
“Language.” The other, slightly older man noted before pulling something –an envelope- from inside his inner coat-pocket. “As I’ve said, I come bearing news for you.” He repeated as he handed the young man the envelope.  
  
The young man simply stared at the object given to him, too bewildered to react. But as he finally noticed the sound of a fading footsteps, he was quickly brought back from his reverie and called out for the mysterious name.  
  
“Who are you and what is this thing exactly?”  
  
The other man stopped on his heels, taking his time as he turned back to face the young man. A small smile on his lips.  
  
“There is no need for a name to be known, young Matsumoto Jun. But the news in your hand,” The man pointed at the envelope. “Is what will change your world.”  
  
With one last playful grin, the man turned his back on him. And before he could produce anymore sound, he disappeared.  
  
Looking down at the envelope in his hands, he begin to open with with careful eyes.  
  
“What the- ?”  
  
Inside, a _Joker_ card came into view, neat handwriting with emerald ink below it.  
  
_‘For all’s gone, is gained. The moon will light upon your path.’_

~To Be Continued~


	2. Chapter 1 ~JUN~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matsumoto Jun is just your ordinary young man aspiring to be a fashion designer. Until one day, a mysterious man clad in black coming to bring him a news which will change his life forever. "Welcome to the TRUMP"

“Earth to J!”  
  
Jun almost burst out his drink when a voice suddenly came on his ear.   
  
“Nino! Stop scaring me!” He spat at his offending friend.   
  
“Hey, I’m not the one daydreaming.” Nino simply grinned as he took a seat across him. “So, what’s the matter?”   
  
“What do you mean ‘What’s the matter’?” Jun rolled his eyes, still annoyed at the sudden call.   
  
“Well, you’ve been weird all day. I mean, you didn’t listen to Yamaguchi-sensei’s lecture for once.” Nino gave a shrug, stealing some fries from Jun’s plate in the process.   
  
Jun had to blush at that. It was embarassing, really. Yamaguchi-sensei’s lecture is his favourite, and he just made a fool of himself by answering a simple question wrong.   
  
“Don’t remind me.” He sighed. “And stop stealing my food!”   
  
Nino only let out a hearty laugh, ignoring Jun’s warning as he kept on stuffing himself with Jun’s food.   
  
“But what’s in your mind, really? You’re not being yourself today, you know.”   
  
Jun contemplated. Last night’s event had been bothering him a lot, but he found it hard to talk to anyone about it. But Nino is his bestfriend, and despite his brattiness, Nino always had a solution for any problems.   
  
“I was approached by this weird man last night on my way home.” Jun said at last.   
  
“A pervert?” Nino prompted, his eyes narrowing.   
  
“Not that kind of weird!” Jun blushed again at Nino’s suggestion. “Just- unusual. He suddenly appeared behing me, sporting this weird suit, and handed me a letter.”   
  
“A letter? What’d it say?” Curiousity sparked in Nino’s eyes as he leaned forward in excitement.   
  
Jun fished out the envelope from inside his bag and handed it over to Nino, letting the older man scanned through it.   
  
“I’m not sure what it means. It looks like a puzzle or something. And I don’t even know who that man is and what does he want. Everything is just, so sudden, and so weird.” A frown lined on Jun’s forehead. “You think you know something?”   
  
But as Jun looked up, he was surprised at what he sees. The previous curious expression on Nino’s face all gone, replaced by a hard and skeptical look. There’s something in his eyes that Jun hasn’t seen before. And it frightened him.   
  
“Nino? Are you alright?”   
  
At the call of his name, Nino looked like he was brought back from a trance as he stared back at Jun’s eyes, the dangerous glint gone.   
  
“Yeah. I, this card reminds me of that new trick I’m learning, that’s all.” Nino said with a smile. “Well, too bad, though. I’m just as clueless as you are.”   
  
Jun knows there’s something Nino didn’t tell him. He’s not stupid. But he trusts Nino so he let it pass.   
  
“I guess it’s just some weird man doing his weird stuff then. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”   
  
“Yeah.” Nino thrusts the card back into his hands. “But you should look out just in case. You’ll never know if something might happen after this.”   
  
Jun nodded at that.   
  
“Yeah.”   
  
***TRUMP***   
  
Jun hates having to do some works late into the night. He enjoys a leisure evening, watching the stars with a glass of wine on his hand from the balcony. But he loves design, and he chose this major in order to attain his dream to be a fashion designer one day, so he’s got no room to complaint.   
  
Still, sometimes he just dislikes going home when it’s dark already.   
  
“I guess I should go grab some dinner while I’m at it. I really are not in the mood for some cooking right now.” He muttered to himself as he entered a random family restaurant.   
  
“Welcome! Are you by yourself?”   
  
At the affirmative Jun gave the waiter, he quickly led Jun to an empty table by the corner, before handing him the menu.   
  
“Please call me when you’re ready to order!” The waiter gave a polite smile before walking off.   
  
A loud yawn escaped Jun’s mouth as he scanned the menu. He’s in the mood for curry, and the picture of the shop’s siganature curry rice dish looks so tempting. Guess his dinner is decided.   
  
Jun looked up to call for the waiter, when something catch his eyes.   
  
A few tables away from him, he could see Nino talking fiercely with some unknown man. He can’t hear their conversation, of course, but Jun is quite sure that Nino is mad. His order forgotten, Jun ended up staring at the two men talking from afar.   
  
“Excuse me, Sir, are you ready to take your order?”   
  
The voice of the waiter startled Jun he almost jumped from his seat. But after remembering his purpose of coming here in the first place, he quickly place his order before turning his attention back to Nino and this unknown man, just as the myterious man stood up to leave. As the man walked away, Jun could catch a bit of his appearance.   
  
He looks a few years older than either Jun and Nino, with a short dark brown hair sporting his round face. The eyeglasses adorning his face showed his intelligent. And from his outfit, Jun could guess that he’s a working man, a respectable one with many socialization to do most probably. Because despite his simple choice of clothing, the brandings showed some wealth, and from the way he looked at his watch immediately after leaving Nino tell Jun that he’s a busy man.   
  
The question is: What business Nino has with that kind of man?   
  
Jun is contemplating of whether he should call out for Nino or not, but before he could decide, Nino beat him to it.   
  
“Jun?”   
  
“Err, hi, Nino!”   
  
***TRUMP***   
  
“What a coincidence to see you here. From all I know, you usually bury your head in your game at this time of hour.” Jun started as Nino sat down across him.   
  
“Yeah. I have some business going.” Nino told him absentmindedly.   
  
“With the man who just left?” At the incredulous look in Nino’s face, Jun looked down apologetically. “Sorry. I saw you talking with him a bit.”   
  
Nino let out a sigh. “Nah, it’s okay. It’s not that you’re stalking me or anything. There’s not need for you to apologize.”   
  
“Hn.” Jun nodded, just as the waiter return with his curry rice. “Have you eaten?” He asked his friend.   
  
“Yeah. I’m okay.”   
  
Jun gave him a nod again before spooning his curry into his mouth, letting out a delighter sound a second later.   
  
“The picture sure did not disappoint. This curry rice is as delicious as it looked.”   
  
“I’d say.” Nino grinned. “The chef is a great cook. I can assure you that everything is delicious here.”   
  
“You know the chef?” Jun looked up in awe.   
  
“Kinda.” Nino shrugged. “I got to know him for a while now. He’s rarely here though. Being too busy with his own little world. He just left the recipe and let everyone else do the works.”   
  
“Such a peculiar man.” Jun let out a small chuckle before taking another spoonful of curry rice into his mouth. “But he’s got talent here.”   
  
“You bet.”   
  
The two of them fall into a comfortable silence after that. Jun busy eating the delicious treat, while Nino focused on his phone- a mobile game, most probably.   
  
“Thanks for the food!” Jun clasped his hands together after gulping his water down. “It sure was delicious!”   
  
Nino only grinned at his comment as Jun call for the waiter to ask for the bill.   
  
“You’re going home after this?” Asked Nino as he pocketed his phone.   
  
“Yeah.” Pulling out a bill from his wallet, Jun watched the waiter left again. “You?”   
  
“I still have some things to do after this, so I guess I’ll stay around for a little longer.” Nino told him.   
  
“I see. I’ll be taking me leave first then.” Jun collected his stuff before standing up. He’s about to walk away when Nino’s voice call his name.   
  
“Jun.”   
  
Turning back, Jun waited for Nino to continue.   
  
“I-“ Nino looked hesitated for a moment, before he broke into a smile. “Have a safe trip.”   
  
Jun return his smile.   
  
“Yeah. You, too.”   
  
***TRUMP***   
  
Jun is in a predicament.   
  
A weird postcard just arrived at his doorstep this prior morning. No address, no sender, nothing. Just a piece of _Qoeen of Spades_ card with yet a weird invitation written in bright ruby ink.   
  
_‘Come to the BIG-NO this coming Saturday at 6 pm sharp. Shall the moonlight enlighten your path.’_  
  
Jun read message over and over again. He recognized the name of the place. BIG-NO is that restaurant he visited a couple of days back where he had this encounter with Nino and the mysterious man.   
  
He’s not sure about this. This could be a scam or something. A trap for Jun. With so little information regarding the invitation, Jun has every rights to ignore the message and throw the card away. But for some reason he doesn’t know, Jun found himself the next Saturday at the entrance of BIG-NO, the card clutched tightly around his fingers.   
  
“You can still back down from this, Jun.” He told himself softly as he hesitating whether to enter the shop or not.   
  
“I see that you’re here already.”   
  
A voice come from behind Jun, startling him. Letting out a silent curse under his breath, Jun’s mind slightly wondered if people are ganging up on him somehow, because he had been surprised one too many by a person’s call as of lately.   
  
As Jun turned around to face the newcomer, he widened his eyes in surprise at the sight. That mysterious man who was with Nino the last time is now standing right in front of him.   
  
“What are you waiting for then? Come one in.” The man said after a moment, walking pass Jun and into the restaurant.   
  
Knowing that he just lost his chance to walk away, Jun followed the man inside. Surprisingly, no one came to welcome them. In fact, the whole restaurant is empty, with the exception of one occupied table by the middle of the room in which two men had already sat. Looking back, only then that Jun realized that the restaurant is closed for the day. Meaning that this mysterious man-who seemd to be his invitor- had probably booked the whole place just for their conversation.   
  
Following closely behind the man, Jun sat down at his appointed seat, looking around his company for the first time. Aside from the mysterious man, Jun found this sleepy-looking yet seemingly kind man smiling at him from his right. And on his left is—   
  
“Nino?!”

 

***TRUMP - Chapter 1 ~JUN~***


	3. Chapter 2 ~JUN~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matsumoto Jun is just your ordinary young man aspiring to be a fashion designer. Until one day, a mysterious man clad in black coming to bring him a news which will change his life forever. "Welcome to the TRUMP"

Jun was at lost of words. Of all people, he least expected Nino to be there as well. Nino might received the same invitation, but his guts told Jun otherwise.  
  
“Nino? What are you doing here?”  
  
His bestfriend obviously is feeling uncomfortable at the moment, with the way he’s avoiding Jun’s eyes. But he’s trying to keep his cool and ignore Jun’s call.  
  
“Alright. Before we get to the point, allow me to introduce myself first.” The mysterious man spoke, tearing Jun’s gaze away from Nino. “My name is Sakurai Sho, also known as the ‘ _Queen of Spades_ ’.” The man tilted his chin, pointing at the card in Jun’s hands at that.  
  
“This person here,” He waved a hand to the sleepy man, “Is Ohno Satoshi, our resident ‘ _King of Clubs_ ’.”  
  
The sleepy man smiled warmly at him, somehow giving Jun a sense of comfort.  
  
“And this man, I’m sure you’ve known already.” This Sakurai man pointed at Nino. “But here, he’s also called as the ‘ _Ace of Spades_ ’.”  
  
Sakurai gave him a small smile before continuing.  
  
“We are the ‘ _Trumps_ ’. A secret troupe existing to keep the balance of this world. We mostly stay hidden behind the curtain, and only took action when it is extremely necessary. We do not belong to any affiliations. We stood by our own ideals and do not take orders from anyone but our ownselves. We own knowledge many never knew. We have power many seek for. We, in a non-exagerrating fashion, are the watchers, the keepers.”  
  
“Of what?” Jun finally found his voice.  
  
“Of this world’s balance as I’ve mentioned before. We do many other things, but we mostly watch, and keep.”  
  
Jun turned to Nino, but the young man just looked away.  
  
“Just like the trump card, we are called by our card name, the identity which represents our place in this troupe. The _Kings_ are our leader, whilst the _Queens_ are his/her right hand. There are others, somekind like underlings, ranked from ten to two, who serves under their suits’ _Kings_. The _Aces_ , despite having a low number of one, is actually on the same level of the _Kings_ , if not higher. They stood as the other voice of the _Kings_ , the- advisors. They have no authorizations against the underlings, but they could do things without the _Kings’_ permition when they deem it fit.  
  
“The _Trumps_ are divided into two sub-units. The dark suit, and the white suit. Each sub-unit consists of one _King,_ one _Queen_ , one _Jack_ , and one _Ace_ , with the suit representing their own personality accordingly. There are equally eighteen underlings under each sub-units, with nine person under each suit. As there are two suits in each sub-units, the four tops are usually varied. For example, we have currently two _Spades_ and one _Club_ in our sub-unit, while the white suit currently having three _Diamonds_ and one _Heart_.”  
  
Sakurai stopped his monologue for a while, allowing Jun to absorb all the new information.  
  
“As you have probably realized, the dark suit is missing it’s _Jack_.” Sakurai continued on, his voice suddenly quiet and- sad. “Sometimes ago, he was gone to a mission on the far east. It was a simple job of watching, but something went wrong and we suddenly lost him. Forever.”  
  
_‘He’s dead.’_  
  
It doesn’t take a genius to know it. The change of their expression tell Jun enough.  
  
“We have yet to find the right replacement for him, and had thought that we might not need a replacement after all.” Sakurai looked up, his eyes piercing into Jun’s. “Until _you_ come.”  
  
“Wha-“ Jun gulped. “What does it has anything to do with me? Why sharing me the secret?”  
  
“Because,” This time, it’s that Ohno-guy who is talking, “We were told that you have been given a message.”  
  
“A message? By who? To do what?”  
  
“By the _‘Joker’_.” Nino said suddenly, still avoiding Jun’s eyes even as he said so.  
  
“The ‘ _Joker_ ’?” Jun frowned before a realization hit him. “You mean the man who gave me that Joker card?”  
  
“Precisely.” Sakurai gave a curt nod.  
  
“But, why me? What do I do? And who’s this _Joker_ guy anyway? Is he coming here too?”  
  
“I’m afraid, we do not have the answers to a few of your questions.” Sakurai closed his eyes for a moment. “No one really knows who the _Joker_ is, unfortunately. No one knows his name, where he comes from, or what’s his objective. All we know is that he’s always there, a lone part of our troupe, but never really seen. He’s an enigma, even to us.”  
  
“We’ve only heard of him from the sound of of the winds, carried through our open window.” Ohno added softly. “It is still a bizarre experience you had, to have the _Joker_ himself delivering you a message.”  
  
“Wait a minute! Are you recruiting me to be your new _Jack_ because the _Joker_ came to me?” Jun asked, his voice trembled.  
  
“It doesn’t work that way, Matsumoto-san.” Sakurai shook his head with a smile. “We’ve told you that we did not look for a new member. But when Kazu came and told us about your encounter, we have a feeling that you probably might have to be enlightened by this knowledge. We do not know why the _Joker_ sent you that message, but we thought that you might need to know more before you have to decide anything.”  
  
Jun looked down on his lap. He still hasn’t fully grasp this new information, but at least he’s not as clueless as he was.  
  
“We have yet to know of what you should do about that message. But when the time comes and you have to make your decision, please do it in full conscience with all the knowledge you have received and are about to obtain. For the time being, just live your life like usual. We won’t know anything more than we already did until the signs come.” Sakurai leaned back on his seat, another smile adorned his thin lips. “But for now, why don’t you consider joining us?”  
  
“You said you weren’t recruiting me?”  
  
“We weren’t.” Sakurai shook his head. “But now that you’ve known, you are given the chance to consider joining us at your own free will. Of course, you could reject our offer if you wish, but only under the vow that our conversation just now stays under this roof.”  
  
“And if I don’t keep my vow-?”  
  
“Then we are afraid that we have to annihilate you. In order to keep the balance.” Ohno suddenly spoke, his tone flat and eyes cold. It’s like the previous kind-looking man is gone.  
  
“But of course, if you promise to keep this our own little secret, we won’t do a thing to you. We might as well stay friends and all.” Sakurai added, trying to melt the tension Ohno just build. “But we do respect your space. If you are to reject our offer, and wish to hear no more for us, we will disappear from your lives.”  
  
A worry line started to form on Jun’s forehead as he’s thinking about the offer and all the possibilities.  
  
“You don’t have to give your answer now, of course. You may have all the time you need to.” Sakurai said again, trying to reassure Jun.  
  
“Yeah, Sho-kun’s right.” Ohno added with a yawn, his laid back demeanor back. “You don’t need to rush things up. Anyway, anyone starving? I’m gonna heat my curry now if you are.”  
  
“Why, that would be a delight.” Sakurai agreed almost immediately. “Kazu, you’re staying for the dinner, too, right?”  
  
“Hnn.” Nino made a low, almost unintelligable sound of agreement.  
  
“Very well. How about you, Matsumoto-san? Fancy eating some curry? Satoshi’s curry is one of the best, you see.” Sakurai turned at Jun, waiting.  
  
“You work here?” Jun asked Ohno instead.  
  
“Well, I technically own this place, so yeah, you could say that I work here.” Ohno answer with a shrug.  
  
“Oh! You’re that awesome chef Nino told me about?” Jun suddenly stood on his feet, eyes sparkling with admiration. “I _looooveee_ your curry! It was heaven!”  
  
Sakurai let out a crisp laugh at Jun’s reaction.  
  
“I’ll take it as a yes then. Satoshi, four curry rice for us, then.”  
  
“Right away, Sho-kun!”

*** TRUMP - Chapter 2 ~JUN~ ***

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm back with another story! This idea had always been there, at the back of my mind, but only now could I finally write it down in an actual story. If you've read my previous stories, this one might have resemblance to one of my work called 'Black Saint' (It's a HSJ fanfic). If you asked me why, that would be because the idea of both story was the same, but the background and overall plot might be different. So, yeah.
> 
> Enjoy! And please do tell me your thoughts of the story!


End file.
